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Language can be both a unifying and dividing force but the rhetoric of today tends to be dangerously divisive. In times like these, we expect the press to rise above the fray and to incite nuanced and educated discourse.

Damayan graciously allowed me to interview three human trafficking survivors. While the names and faces of these women are not included in this film (to respect their privacy), I attempt to amplify their experiences of being OFWs in the United States.

The United States was not the first country to fight for independence, and it certainly will not be the last. It did not provide the world with the great gift of democracy; we have the ancient Greeks to thank for that. And due to centuries of imperialism, it is not the first global superpower. So what is it about America that makes so many people regard it as exceptional?

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges conducts studies on federal funding committed to research for different branches of science. The data shows that not only do the psychological and social sciences receive the least amount of funding, but also that the overall amount has dropped in the past decade.

People often say sports are like life. They teach you how to get up when you fall. They teach you to work with others. They teach you how to be a gracious winner and loser. They teach you to work hard for your goals and to never quit.

The guerilla tactics of the Afghan Mujahideen in the 70s are simply no match for the complex online financing and international recruitment operations used by ISIS today. While new groups are constantly improving their combat and outreach strategies, older groups that haven’t adapted as readily are quick to fade into obscurity. The result is a world where terrorist groups are stronger, more sophisticated, and more threatening than ever before.

The American people’s continued adherence to mendacious structures and policies that promote the suffering of citizens is duplicitous to the very rights this country esteems ...It is grossly hypocritical for a society that stands by the words “Give me liberty or give me death” to deny an individual's liberty to choose death.

Public perception of Indigenous people is regulated to aid the American cultural narrative. The result is a strategically fashioned idea of the United States as existing in an untainted present state. This produces a notion of endless growth and opportunity, leaving behind stories of past genocide that nonetheless continue to burden Indigenous groups.

As it stands, the outlook is grim. Humanity has collectively passed the point of no return in its emissions and wanton pollution of the environment. With this in mind, the time has come to shift from half-hearted preventive measures to a full-scale preparation for a warmer planet.

The Hollywood Industrial Complex produces deceptive cultural products that glorify war and lure the American public into supporting their government’s imperialist agenda. Films funded by the DOD not only anesthetize violence, but create a narrative that justifies it through plot lines, characters, and scenes that alienate American “enemies” and offer single-sided reasoning for military presence abroad

The institutions of modern democracy restricted political representation through electoral laws, campaign laws, party politics and behind-the-scenes politicizing, producing a distinct political class. It seems, however, that the present situation is seeing yet another paradigm shift in politics.

Recent revelations of pervasive surveillance, sharp rises in cyberattacks, and non-disclosure of vulnerabilities in consumer products render former policy insufficient. They also compel us to question what steps to take towards a better internet – one that is secure, sensitive to privacy, and accessible to all.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 defies reductive categorization. Third Worldist, Islamic Marxist and radical Shi’i ideologies converged and proliferated throughout Iranian society during the movement to end the autocracy of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. These factions developed and disseminated radical political ideas reflecting socio-economic and cultural grievances that emphasized themes of anti-Americanism in visual media.

My Facebook newsfeed was ablaze as I scrolled through countless posts ending in #Ferguson, #BlackLivesMatter, and #HandsUpDontShoot. Moments earlier, a Missouri court had ruled not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed young black man. Friends of mine had swiftly taken to the internet to voice their outrage, disgust, and demands for action. Within minutes of the decision, millions of similar posts had already surged across the Internet -- but the public outcry didn’t stop there.

The Gettysburg Address is not laced with expletives. When Abraham Lincoln delivered the speech on the eve of the namesake battle over one hundred years ago, he didn’t sprinkle in a few forbidden words for added emphasis. Instead, the lasting power of the speech lies in its precision, powerful brevity, and seamless eloquence.

In the opening of Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh, two fishermen drunkenly discuss the value of the truth. "To hell with the truth!" one of them exclaims, "It's irrelevant and immaterial, as the lawyers say. The lie of a pipe dream is what gives life to the whole misbegotten mad lot of us, drunk or sober."

During the 2016 presidential election, people turned to satirical news television shows for coverage of the latest dramatic events impacting the campaign. Satire has long been revered as a powerful form of media with the ability to use humor to reveal imperfections and an underlying truth. However, as James Poniewozik observes in his article “Donald Trump is a Conundrum for Political Comedy” in The New York Times, Donald Trump’s larger than life public persona, cultivated by his preexisting celebrity and coaching for reality television has rendered him unspoofable

The history of immigration in the United States is long and storied. Like most stories, it is best told with words. But the words used to describe immigrants in America are not what one would expect from a nation founded on, built by, and dependent on immigration. In fact, the language used can be thoroughly degrading to the point of dehumanization.

In March 2014, surveillance pictures were taken in the Islamic Republic of Iran showing a non-working replica of a US Navy aircraft carrier being built by Iranians, which prompted statements of suspicion from American officials.